ArtistInfo

World Saxophone Quartet

Band, *1977 US
Jazz

The World Saxophone Quartet is a jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free funk and African jazz into their music.The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), Oliver Lake (alto and soprano saxophone), Hamiet Bluiett (baritone saxophone, alto clarinet), and David Murray (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet). The first three had worked together as members of the Black Artists' Group in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1989, Hemphill left the group due to illness, and several saxophonists have filled his chair in the years since. In the late 1980s the quartet used Bluiett's composition "Hattie Wall" (recorded on W.S.Q., Live in Zurich, Dances and Ballads and Steppenwolf) as a signature theme for the group. The group principally recorded and performed as

Members

	Oliver Lake as, ss *1942 US
	Arthur Blythe as *1940 US
	John Purcell as *1952 US
	David Murray ts, bcl *1955 US
	Hamiet Bluiett bs *1940 US
	Julius A Hemphill as, ss
	James Carter ts, bs *1969 US
	Kidd Jordan ts *1935 US
	Jaleel Shaw as *1978 US
	Bruce Williams as, ss US